1. Andrew Johnson was born on January 2, 1808, near Raleigh, North Carolina. He would later become the 17th President of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869 after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was also the first U.S. President to be impeached.

2. On January 2, 1839, the Cherokee Nation was forced to move from their ancestral lands in Tennessee to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in what is known as the Trail of Tears. Approximately 16,000 Cherokee were forcibly removed from their homes, and thousands died during the journey.

3. The Great Train Wreck of 1904 occurred on January 2, when two passenger trains collided head-on near Nashville, Tennessee. The accident killed 101 people and injured another 171, making it the deadliest train accident in U.S. history at the time.

4. On January 2, 1954, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee announced that they had successfully created the world's first fully sustained nuclear reaction. This groundbreaking achievement helped pave the way for advances in nuclear science and technology.

5. The Tennessee Titans played their first playoff game in franchise history on January 2, 2000. The team, then known as the Tennessee Oilers, defeated the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in a wildcard matchup. The Titans would go on to reach the Super Bowl that season, ultimately losing to the St. Louis Rams.